Monument marks John Smith's 1614 voyage

RYE — Around this time in 1614, Capt. John Smith and a handful of loyal men sailed the waters from present day Massachusetts to Downeast Maine.

During this six-month journey, Smith carefully observed the region's climate, soil, flora and fauna and native people. He later produced a book on these travels and the first-ever map to include the Isles of Shoals.

Smith also was first to give this region a name. He called it New England.

On Thursday, state and local officials and about 150 guests commemorated the 400-year anniversary of that voyage with a ceremony at Rye Harbor State Park. The event included the unveiling of a monument honoring Smith.

“This monument honors that history and will that share that history with visitors for years to come,” said state Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, who led the state's 1614 Monument Commission over the past 10 months.

The commission also included Mae Bradshaw from the Rye Heritage Commission and Angela Matthews from the Star Island Corp., as well as state legislators and employees.

The four-piece granite obelisk made from New Hampshire granite was installed along the grassy edge of Ragged Neck Point, within sight of the Isles of Shoals. The 18-ton monument stands “16-feet, 14-inches” tall to mark the year of Smith's voyage.

The Legislature authorized $40,000 for the monument, which was supplemented by about $60,000 in private donations. Only about $20,000 in state money was spent.

The Rye monument faces two obelisks on Star Island built in 1864 and 1914 that commemorate the 1614 voyage. A ceremony is planned on Star Island Aug. 22.

Many know Smith as a founder of the Jamestown settlement and for his interactions with Pocahontas, but University of New Hampshire history professor W. Jeffrey Bolster said there's much more to his story.

Smith came from a modest family and later became an accomplished solider who fought in Turkey for the Holy Roman Empire. There, he was captured, enslaved and eventually escaped by killing his jailer, stealing his clothes and riding to safety. Smith also was a noted sailor, cartographer and writer who spoke several languages.

“The point is, by the time he got on that ship in 1607 to come to Virginia, he was a larger-than-life figure,” Bolster said.

Smith's writings about New England provided critical details about the region that influenced future expeditions, including the Pilgrims' journey to Plymouth.

Smith, who died in 1631, also had a revolutionary social vision that looked beyond the concept of aristocracy and rank.

“He thought that small men on the make — tradesmen, fishermen, foresters, farmers — they could come here and work on their own and make the sort of society that existed in New Hampshire and New England through the time of the American Revolution and shortly thereafter,” Bolster said.

Thursday's ceremony also featured speeches by state Sens. Nancy Stiles and Martha Fuller Clark. Executive Councilor Christopher Sununu recalled how as a child an aggressive sea gull knocked him from a boat traveling to the Isles of Shoals.

Wearing a puffy white shirt and a leather vest, re-enactor Paul Strand of Portsmouth gave a speech that captured Smith's self-assured style.

Jeffrey Rose, commissioner of the N.H. Dept. of Natural Resources, read a proclamation from Gov. Maggie Hassan declaring August 2014 as Capt. John Smith month.

With its rocky coast and unobstructed views, Rose described Rye Harbor State Park as a “hidden gem.” He predicted the monument would attract more people to the park.